A’s agree to pay millions on balance for Coliseum ownership share

The Oakland Athletics have agreed to pay Alameda County the $45 million the team owes for its 50 percent of the Coliseum site.

A letter obtained by the Review-Journal from the A’s to Nate Miley, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, said the team agreed to pay the remaining sum by May 14.

In 2019, the A’s purchased a 50 percent share of the Coliseum site from Alameda County for an agreed sum of $85 million. The city of Oakland owns the other half of the Coliseum complex, which includes the Coliseum, adjoined Oakland Coliseum Arena, former home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and 120 acres of land.

The initial plan was for the A’s to pay the deal off in installments over seven years. The A’s have already paid $40 million of that sum and were scheduled to pay the remaining balance off via $15 million payments in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The accelerated payment request was triggered when the A’s relocation to Las Vegas was unanimously approved Nov. 16 by MLB owners. A clause in the purchase contract stated that if the A’s announced they were vacating Oakland, the team had 180 days to pay any remaining balance.

The city is working with a group to sell its half of the Coliseum site for $115 million. The African American Sports and Entertainment Group is looking to bring other pro sports to town and wants to redevelop the Coliseum site.

The A’s are looking to relocate to Las Vegas for the 2028 MLB season, when their planned $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark set for 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site would be complete.

The team is in the process of getting various agreements with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority in place and designing its Las Vegas stadium. The stadium authority is scheduled to meet Jan. 19. The A’s have secured up to $380 million in public funding for the ballpark from Nevada and Clark County.

The A’s planned to release updated stadium renderings and announce their project architect this month, but that event was postponed after two Nevada Highway Patrol troopers were killed on duty. The rescheduled date has yet to be announced.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.